4 Things the World's Youth wants most

1. The chance to start their own business—Certainly youth want jobs, but they do not see those jobs coming anytime soon. Instead, millions of young people are ready to start their own enterprises and create new jobs in their economies. They need training, capital, access to markets, and much lower barriers to business start-up.

2. An education that prepares them for the real world—Education systems are failing billions of youth globally. Millions of young people complete primary education and still cannot read or write in their native language. They want—and in some cases are creating themselves—new methods to help youth get the full set of cognitive, life, and work skills.

3. The end of corruption and bad governance—Young people are feeling the corrosive effects of corruption and government apathy in every area of their lives, from education and road safety to health and environmental protection. They are ready to use their tech savvy to create new systems of accountability and transparency for the public and private sectors.

4. A safe and secure life—Too often young people are viewed as the source of national and regional insecurity, and yet they are among the most affected by it and the best suited to address it. Extremism and violence attract only a small minority of youth; however, the majority of young people see their futures vanishing into the smoke of conflict.

It is vitally important that we formerly young people take note of and act on this clarity from youth globally. There is little time to waste. We can invest in young people now or spend exponentially more later to address the effects of our neglect.